Abstract

Pre-Quaternary hillslope records provide a physical link between the source of sediment on hillslopes and the sedimentary sink of depositional basins. This guide complements a field excursion to localities in the Panaca and Table Mesa basins of southeast Nevada that are related to study of this unusual type of sedimentary deposit. Study of the sedimentology and stratigraphic context of this “ancient colluvium” provides new information on climate controls on sedimentation and landscape dynamics in this dry setting. Topics addressed herein include the stratigraphy, age, depositional environment, provenance, and paleontology of late-stage basin fill of the Muddy Creek and Panaca Formations; rock-type versus climate controls on sediment yield; and the landscape evolution of the region. Below we provide a background to the research problems addressed along with the general geologic setting and history, then follow with descriptions and research results associated with each of the two days of the field trip.

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Great Basin and Sierra Nevada, the second volume of the Geological Society of America Field Guide Series, focuses on the dynamic and spectacular geology of this region, providing the inspiring backdrop for the 2000 GSA Annual Meeting in Reno. This volume gives complete coverage of field trips held in conjunction with that meeting, and contains 20 chapters organized into three sections. The first section consists of 16 chapters arranged in geochronological order, beginning with the active tectonics of Lake Tahoe and the historical surface faulting and paleoseismicity of the central Nevada seismic belt, and ending with the Neoproterozoic glacial record of Death Valley. In between are chapters dealing with Basin and Range extension, Eocene magmatism, Mesozoic plutonism in the Sierra Nevada, Paleozoic subduction, and Ordovician stratigraphy, to name a few. The second section covers the geology of the Nevada Test Site and the nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The last section is an invited field guide from the 1999 GSA Cordilleran Section meeting that covers the wines and geology of Napa Valley, California. Overall, Great Basin and Sierra Nevada is a comprehensive compilation of new and exciting research on this amazingly diverse region, with well-crafted guides to field localities of special interest. Full-color plates in some chapters make this guide an especially appealing and useful volume.